USA > Iowa > Taylor County > History of Taylor County, Iowa; from the earliest historic times to 1910, biographical sketches of some prominent citizens > Part 30
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was reared in the place of her nativity and acquired her education in the dis- trict schools, and in Illinois.
Following his marriage Mr. Dowell engaged in farming in Nodaway county for six years, purchasing a farm of eighty acres of land. In 1895 he bought one hundred and sixty acres in Benton township, where he now resides and with characteristic energy began to improve and cultivate this place. He has since extended its boundaries by the purchase of an additional tract of forty acres. and is now the owner of an excellent property of two hundred acres in the midst of which he has erected a large and commodious frame residence. He has likewise built two good barns and ample shelter for grain and stock is af- forded in sheds and other outbuildings, which he has put up. He has some twelve hundred rods of woven wire fence, which is hog tight, much of this being used to divide the farm into fields of convenient size. He has also planted an orchard, and altogether the farm presents a thrifty, attractive appearance. He has a herd of twenty-eight head of registered Hereford cattle and he also owns fine Chester White and Poland China hogs. At a sale which he held in March, 1900, he sold stock hogs to the amount of seventeen hundred dollars. He is re- garded as one of the leading live-stock dealers and representative farmers of the county and his capable conduct of his business affairs is evidenced in the excel- lent farm which he owns and in the improvements which he has made upon it.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Dowell have been born five children, Jesse, Austin, Ross, Anna Lois and Ethel Ruth. All these children have been pupils in the Bedford schools, the eldest son having graduated there in the spring of 1909. Mr. Dowell and his children are members of the Baptist church of Bedford, while his wife belongs to the Presbyterian church. The family is prominent socially, having many friends in this part of the county. Politically Mr. Dowell is a democrat but has never sought nor desired office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs. He has thus become well known as an active, prosperous and progressive farmer of Taylor county and his success is well merited, for it has come as the legitimate reward of his earnest and persistent effort.
W. E. KING.
W. E. King, actively and busily engaged in general farming, his attention and energies being directed to the further development and improvement of two hundred acres of land on section 23, Jefferson township, has lived in Iowa since 1883, at which time he took up his abode in Taylor county. He is a western man by birth and training, having first opened his eyes to the light of day in Schuyler county, Missouri, February 20, 1857. His father, William King, was a native of Wilkes county, North Carolina, where he was reared and there married Miss Ann Janette Call, also a native of the same county. He followed farming in the Old North State until 1859 when he resolved to seek his fortune in Missouri and established his home in Schuyler county, where he entered land from the gov- ernment and opened up a farm. His tract originally comprised eighty acres but additional purchases from time to time had made him the owner of two hundred
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and forty acres constituting a well-improved and valuable farm. Eventually, however, he sold that property and removed to Worth county, Missouri, where he opened up a new farm on which he spent his last years. There he died September 25, 1898, and thus was closed a life of continuous usefulness and activity. His wife passed away on the 13th of August, 1909. To her was accorded a premium at the Old Settlers Association at Blockton on two or three occasions as being the oldest person in this part of Iowa or Missouri.
W. E. King was reared on the old home place in Worth county and from early youth assisted his father in tilling the fields and caring for the crops. After his father's death he and his brother took charge of and carried on the place for a few years, displaying in its able management the business ability and spirit of enterprise which have since made him one of the leading and representative agriculturists of Taylor county.
While living in Worth county, W. E. King was married on the 27th of February, 1881, to Miss Louisa Weese. After their marriage they lived in Missouri for two or three years, Mr. King carrying on farming in Worth county and on the expiration of that period they came to Iowa where he made investment in one hundred and twenty acres of land comprising a part of the farm upon which he now resides. It was undeveloped and unimproved land but he broke the sod, fenced the fields, erected the necessary buildings and opened up the farm. Day by day added something to the work he accomplished in transforming the place into productive fields. After cultivating his land for some years Mr. King then rented the place and removed to Worth county where he farmed his mother's land for five years. He then returned to his old home and has since erected a good residence of two good barns and outbuildings. He has also set out an orchard and grove and the trees add much to the beauty of the place. There was not a switch or stick upon the place when he took possession and now there are various fruit trees together with fine shade and ornamental trees. Mr. King has also added eighty acres to his original tract and with the production of grain he also raises and feeds cattle, horses and hogs. He likewise owns one hundred and sixty acres in the panhandle of Texas, on which his son is now lo- cated and his wife owns eighty acres of land in Worth county.
In 1899 Mr. King was called upon to mourn the loss of his first wife who died on the 4th of June, of that year, leaving four sons and four daughters, all of whom are yet living. These are: Charles E., now of Texas; Zenis P., living in Blockton ; Alvin N., and William D., who are aiding in carrying on the home farm ; Mina, Etta N., Jennie M. and Bessie, all yet under the parental roof. In Taylor county Mr. King was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Melvina Ethridge, a widow who only lived for about two years after their mar- riage. In Worth county, Missouri, on the 20th of May, 1906, Mr. King wedded Catherine Drummins, also a widow and a native of Ohio. She was reared, how- ever, in Iowa and Missouri and was married in Worth county of the latter state to James Thomas Drummins, a farmer of that locality. By her former marriage she had one son, Ulysses S. Drummins, now of Worth county.
In his political views Mr. King has been a lifelong democrat, casting his first presidential vote for Grover Cleveland and his last for William Jennings Bryan. He has never sought nor desired office for himself but has served as a member
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of ·hool board. Both he and his wife are members of the Christian church of B and are both active workers in the church and Sunday-school, doing all in their power to promote the growth and extend the influence of the church in its efforts for the moral redemption of the race. Mr. King is well known in this section of the country where he has long resided and where his labors have been so directed that intelligent and unremitting effort has brought to him a gratifying competence.
JAMES D. DOUGLASS.
James D. Douglass is living on section 23, Clayton township, busily engaged in the cultivation of a neat and well-improved farm of eighty acres. He is numbered among the early settlers of Taylor county and among Iowa's native sons, his birth having occurred in Delaware county on the 21st of January, 1858. His father, David Douglass, is a native of Ohio and in his youthful days removed with his parents to Illinois where he was reared. When a young man, about 1847, he arrived in Iowa, settling in Jackson county, while subsequently he removed to Delaware county. He was married in this state to Miss Mary J. Main, a native of Indiana, and turning his attention to farming he opened up a new farm in Delaware county where he carried on general agricultural pursuits for several years, during which time five children were born of the marriage. In 1871 he removed to Taylor county and purchased land in Gay township, where he developed a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, on which he reared his family. While living upon that place his wife died about 1899, Mr. Douglass surviving her for several years, his death occurring in August, 1902.
James D. Douglass is one of a family of three sons and a daughter who were the surviving members of the father's household. He spent the days of his boyhood and youth in this state, pursued his education in the country schools and remained with his father until he had obtained his majority, assisting him in the cultivation of the home farm. The training which he received in agricultural lines well qualified him for the work which he took up in starting out in life on his own account. He was married in Blockton, Iowa, December 23, 1880, to Miss Laura Denney, who was born in Clark county, Iowa. After his marriage he rented land and engaged in farming in Gay township for a few years. Later he bought and owned several farms in different parts of the county, eventually purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land in Benton township, on which he located and made his home for several years. He then sold out and bought a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Washington township, where he carried on general farming for three years. He then traded that property for a tract of land in Gay township, owning and cultivating there one hundred and eighty acres which he brought under a high state of improvement. He built to and remodeled the house but after six years spent upon the place he traded that property for a farm of two hundred and forty acres in Mason township, on which he lived for five years. In that period he erected good buildings and kept every- thing about his place in a state of good repair, making the farm a valuable and
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productive one. After disposing of that property he bought the pl: woon which he now resides and which has been his home since January, a. | He owns here a neat and well-improved farm of eighty acres, situated on section 23, Clayton township, and in connection with the cultivation of cereals best adapted to soil and climate he raises and feeds stock, has some good horses and also hogs and cattle of high grades.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Douglass have been born three children; Charles O., who is married and resides in Colorado; Cecil A., who is married and is a farmer of Clayton township; and Ethel May, a young lady at home. Mr. Doug- lass has been a stalwart republican in politics, since age conferred upon him the right of franchise, at all elections where state and national issues are involved, but is not strongly partisan in local politics. He has been elected and is now serving as assessor but has never been a politician in the sense of office seeking. Throughout his entire life he has been a resident of Iowa, living in Taylor county for thirty-eight years, during which period he has not only been a witness of the growth and progress of the county but has aided materially in its develop- ment and improvement. He has bought, owned and cultivated a number of farms which he has sold later at a fair advance in price. He is a good business man and one whose business integrity is above question. His life has been one of industry and thrift and his enterprise has brought him success which he is now enjoying and which numbers him among the representative agriculturists of the community.
LEW W. SPENCER.
There is no richer agricultural district in all the world than the broad prairies of Iowa and the state is accorded leadership in the production of corn and holds hardly a secondary place in the production of several other cereals. Lew W. Spencer is among the number whose labors have contributed to the reputation which the state bears in this connection. He is one of the progressive farmers of Ross township, living on section 14. His landed possessions are extensive, comprising four hundred acres of valuable land on which he raises extensive crops and also raises and feeds stock.
His record is altogether a creditable one and Iowa is glad to number him among her native sons. He was born near Des Moines county, October 10, 1865, and is a son of David Andrew Spencer, a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1825. The father remained in the Keystone state to the age of seventeen years when he removed westward. He married Elmira Bishop and for a time they resided in Nodaway county, Missouri, but subsequently established their home in Taylor county, Iowa, where Mr. Spencer bought and owned seven hundred acres of land. Nearly all of this was wild when it came into his possession but with characteristic energy he turned the sod and in course of time transformed . the land into productive fields, thus opening up a farm upon which his son Lew now resides. Year by year he carefully carried on his agricultural pursuits until 1905 when he put aside the cares of active business life and removed to Bed- ford where he is now living.
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Lew W. Spencer was reared to manhood on the old home farm and attended the country schools but is largely self-educated. By reading and study and also in the school of experience he has learned many valuable lessons and his views are now practical and his judgment sound and reliable. He remained with his father until twenty-four years of age when he was married and estab- lished a home of his own.
It was on the 3Ist of January, 1889, in Ross township that Mr. Spencer was joined in wedlock to Miss Alice Cobb, a daughter of Ambrose Cobb, of Bed- ford. Following their marriage they began their domestic life on the farm adjoining the property on which they now reside, and in 1890 took up their abode upon their present place. Mr. Spencer began here with one hundred and twenty acres of land and bent every energy to the cultivation and development of the place. As the years passed he made many modern improvements, added to it and remodeled the house, built a good barn and double crib, enclosed his fields with barbed and woven wire fencing and as he prospered in his undertakings as the years passed he added to his property from time to time until he now has three hundred and twenty acres in the home place and eighty acres in another tract. He annually gathers large crops of corn and other grains and he likewise raises and feeds cattle and hogs, his live-stock interests being an important branch of his business.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Spencer have been born two sons, Troy and Clark R. The former is now a young man who is ably assisting his father in carrying on the home farm. Mr. Spencer is politically independent nor would he ever hold office. He is a man of high principle who never falters in his allegiance to a course which he believes to be right. His success, his business integrity and his many substantial traits of character place him in a prominent position in the community.
A. R. McCAIN.
A. R. McCain is a prosperous farmer, owning one hundred and sixty acres of land on section 9, Platte township. He is a native of Scott county, Iowa, born September 8, 1862. His father, Alexander L. McCain, was born in North Carolina, where he grew to maturity. He was a strong advocate of the Union cause during the Civil war and on that account it became necessary for him to seek a home in the north and accordingly he settled on a farm in Scott county, Iowa. Later he took up his abode in Warren county, this state, where he con- tinued to follow agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred in the spring of 1899. He had been married twice and by his first union there is a surviving son and daughter: John G., a resident of west Tennessee; and Mar- tha J., the wife of William Wilson, of Scott county, Iowa. He was married a second time in South Carolina to Miss Jane McQuiston, who was born and reared in that state. She became the mother of eight children, of whom three sons and one daughter survive: H. J., now a resident of Idaho; R. E., of Chi- cago; Anna E., who is with her brother in that city; and A. R., of this review. The mother departed this life in 1905, her death occurring in Taylor county.
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A. R. McCAIN AND FAMILY
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RESIDENCE OF A. R. McCAIN
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A. R. McCain, the youngest child of his father's second marriage, was but a lad when the family removed from Scott to Warren county, this state, and it was in the latter place that he was practically reared. As soon as old enough he was set to work in the fields, his time being thus employed during the spring and summer months, while during the winter months he attended the district schools. He continued to assist his father in the management of the home- stead farm until the latter's death. In 1899 he purchased his present farm in Taylor county, which he rented for one year to his brother, H. J. McCain, who then removed to an adjoining farm, which he purchased but after a residence of ten years there, removed to Idaho, where he now resides.
It was on the 6th of October, 1892, that A. R. McCain was united in mar- riage to Miss Cordelia Thompson, a daughter of Mitchell Thompson. He was a soldier in the Civil war, serving as a member of the Eighty-third Illinois Volun- teer Infantry, and was killed while at the front. Mrs. McCain was born and reared in Warren county, Illinois, and was educated in Monmouth College.
Following his marriage Mr. McCain continued on the home farm in War- ren county, Iowa, remaining thereon until 1900, when he took up his abode on his own farm, which had been in his possession since a year before. He has built a large and substantial country residence and outbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock, has divided the place into fields of convenient size by good fences and has added to the productiveness of the soil by the use of tiling. He is ever seeking to enhance the value and productiveness of his land by the adoption of modern methods of agriculture and is most progressive in all his work.
Mr. and Mrs. McCain have three daughters: Bessie and Evelyn, who are high-school students in Lenox; and Irene, who is attending the district schools. Mr. McCain is a republican with strong prohibition tendencies. Both he and his wife are members of the United Presbyterian church at Lenox and are active in the work of the church and Sunday-school. Few men are more prominent in agricultural circles in Taylor county than is Mr. McCain. He is an important factor in business circles and his prosperity is well deserved, as in him are em- braced the characteristics of an unbending integrity, unabating energy and industry that never flags. He is public-spirited, giving his cooperation to every movement which tends to promote the moral and material welfare of the community.
FRANK M. HAMILTON.
Frank M. Hamilton, who for a number of years was identified with the United States government interests both at Washington, D. C., and elsewhere, and was also connected with educational lines in Taylor and Page counties, this state, for a long period, is now engaged in general farming and stock raising in Polk township, Taylor county, and through his energy, industry and perseverance has won for himself a high place among the well-known and prosperous agri- culturists of his community.
A native of Indiana, he was born in Lebanon on the 6th of April, 1857, a son of Colonel D. H. and Eliza (Vannice) Hamilton, both natives of Indiana,
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the former of Madison and the latter of Clinton county. The father, however, was reared in Boone county, his native state, and enjoyed the benefits of a good education, becoming a graduate of Wabash College at Crawfordsville. He was a lawyer and engaged in active practice of his profession in Indiana up to 1871. He had been married in Boone county, where his children were born and reared. In that year he removed to Taylor county, Iowa, and located on a farm in Ross township, where he was engaged in agricultural pursuits for about twelve years. At the expiration of that period he went to Creston, Iowa, where he was identified with merchandising for six years. He then organized the Racket Merchandise Company and located for business in Kansas City. He was elected first president of the company and remained incumbent in that office up to the time of his demise, which occurred about three years later. He was a well-known figure in political circles in his native state and in 1867 was elected from Boone county to represent his district in the state senate. He was also elected a member of the county board of Taylor county, Iowa, filling that posi- tion for two terms or six years. The only interruption in his active business career came in 1862, when, in response to his country's call for troops, he en- listed from Boone county, Indiana, being elected captain of Company G, Fifty- fifth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. His brave and valiant service, however, won him promotion and he was mustered out with the rank of Colonel of the One Hundred and Tenth Regiment. He was well known not only in his native state but also in Iowa and Missouri and was held in high regard and esteem by all who knew him. He passed away in 1894 in Kansas City, his remains being taken to Bedford, Iowa, for burial. He was a Royal Arch Mason and the funeral services were conducted under the auspices of that order and of the Grand Army of the Republic. His wife still survives, while their children who are yet living are: Frank M., of this review, and Mrs. A. H. Crawford, residing in Denver, Colorado.
Frank M. Hamilton was reared under the parental roof and was given the advantages of thorough educational training. He attended the public schools of his native state and later became a pupil at the Presbyterian Academy at Leb- anon, Indiana, while he supplemented this training by a course of study at the Wabash College of Crawfordsville. After his graduation from that insti- tution he entered upon the profession of teaching and was thus engaged in Taylor and Page counties, Iowa, for about twelve years. He proved a very efficient instructor, clearly and readily imparting to others the knowledge he had him- self acquired, and he did all in his power to further the interests of education during his connection with the profession. He subsequently was offered a posi- tion in the pension bureau at Washington, D. C., at a salary of one thousand dollars per year, which position he filled. acceptably for some time. He then resigned and accepted the office of special examiner, at an advanced salary of thirteen hundred dollars per year, traveling in Missouri for about two years. He was also located in Hannibal and St. Joseph, that state; acting in that capa- city until 1903.
In that year Mr. Hamilton resigned from the government employ and came to Iowa, purchasing the farm upon which he now resides. It consists of one hundred and twenty acres of fine farm land situated on section II, Polk town-
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ship, Taylor county. He has greatly improved the place since it came into his possession, erecting a comfortable and attractive residence, two substantial barns and sheds and other outbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock. He has also set out a fine orchard of well-selected fruit trees and his fields, which are highly cultivated, return to him rich annual harvests. He has introduced all the latest equipment and accessories for facilitating the farm work and his place presents the appearance of a model farm of the twentieth century. In con- nection with his general farming he engages in stock raising, making a specialty of red polled cattle, having on hand at the present time thirty head, all high- grade stock. He also operates a small dairy and these branches of his business are proving gratifying sources of profit to him.
On Christmas day of 1883 Mr. Hamilton was united in marriage to Miss Louisa Dresher, who was born and reared on a farm adjoining that of Mr. Hamilton. The one child, Ross, who came to bless this union, passed away when three years of age. Mr. Hamilton belongs to the Presbyterian church, of which his wife and mother are also members, and he is now serving as an elder of that church, being deeply and helpfully interested in the work thereof. Fraternally he is a Master Mason, belonging to Plumb Lodge, and is also connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, having served as an officer in the Wash- ington lodge during his residence in the capital. In politics he has always been a stalwart republican, doing all in his power to further the interests and influence of that party, while his fellow-citizens, recognizing his loyal public spirit, have called him to various public offices. He served as justice of the peace for two terms and was then elected assessor, serving in that capacity for four years, when he resigned. He has been a prominent figure in party councils and has been sent as delegate to various state and county conventions. He is a gentleman of genuine personal worth, at all times adhering to high ideals of manhood, and he has the esteem and respect of all with whom he has been asso- ciated. As a business man he has displayed many sterling traits, not the least of which are close application, undaunted energy and unfaltering integrity. His life has been one of continuous activity in which has been accorded due recog- nition of labor, and the consensus of public opinion grants him a place among the prosperous, progressive and prominent agriculturists of Polk township.
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